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Objective: Sexual abuse is associated with eating disorders (EDs) severity. However, the psychological mediators of this association have received scant attention in the literature. Method: The present study aimed to evaluate the mediating role of psychological maladjustment, alexithymia, and self‐esteem in the relationship between sexual abuse and EDs severity in a sample of 134 treatment‐naïve patients with an EDs and 129 paired healthy controls. Results: In the EDs group, EDs severity among participants who had been sexually abused was mediated by greater psychological maladjustment and alexithymia (indirect effects: β = 12.55, 95% CI [6.11–19.87] p < 0.001; β = 3.22, 95% CI [0.235–7.97] p < 0.05, respectively). By contrast, these variables had no significant mediating effect on EDs severity in the control group. Discussion: These findings support the hypothesis of a disorder‐related relationship between sexual abuse and alexithymia and psychological maladjustment, which, in turn, influences EDs severity. Alexithymia and psychological maladjustment appear to be promising therapeutic targets for patients with EDs who have a history of sexual abuse. Highlights: Alexithymia and psychological maladjustment may mediate the relationship between sexual abuse and EDs severity in treatment‐naïve patients.Alexithymia and psychological maladjustment are promising therapeutic targets for patients with EDs and a history of sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics and the frequency of medical consultations in the year prior to the diagnosis and the intervention onset of the Eating Disorder, as well as the different prodromal symptoms. The final aim was to understand the origin of all referrals and their possible influence on the duration of untreated illness. Methods: We selected 99 young patients (15–25 years) and 61 healthy controls. Their primary and specialized care medical records were both studied retrospectively. Results: 87.6% of patients attended different consultations (primary care, specialized care and emergency department) the year prior compared to 67.2% of the controls (p =.002). The average number of consultations was 3.59 in the case group and 1.57 in the control group (p <.001). These consultations were related to prodromal symptoms in 57.4% compared to 16.4% for the controls (p <.001). They ranged from 29.8% of unspecific digestive symptoms, 22.8% of psychological symptoms, 19.3% of gynaecologic symptoms, 11.9% of weight variation, 8.8% of analytical changes, to 5.3% of malnutrition symptoms. Patients were mainly referred by Primary Care (42.7%). Overall, the mean of the Duration of Untreated Illness was of 7.45 months. Conclusions: The majority of reasons for consultation were related to symptoms that could be prodromal symptoms, but the patients were not diagnosed with an eating disorder. These findings highlight the importance of professionals understanding how to identify the warning signs of an eating disorder, so they can refer patients to a specialized unit to establish an early treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Psicoterapia is the property of Revista de Psiquiatria y Psicologia Humanista, S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Universitas Psychologica is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objectives of the authors in this study were two-fold: (1) to explore the role of resilience in recovery from eating disorders (EDs), and (2) to develop a model of resilience in women with EDs. Semi-structured interviews with ten women were conducted in April 2011, along with two focus groups with women who had recovered from EDs (n = 5 women each; conducted in April 2012 at the University of Deusto, Spain), one focus group with clinical experts (n = 8; conducted in April 2012 at the Foundation Against EDs of Biskay, Spain), and six narratives from primary caregivers of ED patients living in Biskay, Spain (conducted in November 2012). All data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. All female participants acknowledged experiencing resilience in their recovery. The analysis resulted in a conceptual model of resilience composed of the following categories: deep dissatisfaction with life, turning point, acceptance, hope, determination to change, accountability for the ED, active coping, getting social support, gaining self-knowledge, getting information about EDs, increase well-being, trait resilience, initiating new projects and living in the here and now. According to the model presented, resilience preceded the experience of recovery in women with EDs in this sample and could be a useful asset for future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Altered cognitive functioning could have an important role in the development and maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The majority of previous research has focused on flexibility and global-detail processing. The aim of this study was to explore planning abilities in women with AN.Method: Women with AN (n = 32) were compared to healthy controls (n = 42) using two different types of neuropsychological tasks for the assessment of planning abilities: Tower of London (ToL), a classic measure of planning abilities, and Zoo Map test, a more ecologically valid planning measure. Measures of AN psychopathology, anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsivity were also collected.Results: The AN group did not differ from controls in the ToL (allp-valuesp > .05), although they performed significantly worse than controls in the main score of the Zoo Map (p = .02). A worse performance in the Zoo Map test More was associated with more eating disorders (rho = −.44,p = .018) and depressive (rho = −.42,p = .026) symptoms in the AN group.Conclusions: Our study suggests the presence of subtle planning difficulties in women with AN which might be better detected using tasks with increased ecological validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]